


I reach for the sky (your heart is my sky)

by vaindumbass



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: 5+1 Things, Crack Treated Seriously, Disabled Remus Lupin, Fluff, Getting Together, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Minor James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, as in that i took a meme song and wrote a serious fic about it, my beta told me that i just keep doing emotional 180's so. be warned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:13:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27578987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaindumbass/pseuds/vaindumbass
Summary: “Well then,” Sirius extends a hand, leans forward in something that could almost be called a bow if not for his bold smile, his teeth still visible. “Dance with me?”Remus swallows. “No.” he says, because if he takes that hand he might never let go. (And also because of the whole paresis thing, but. Still.)- or: five times Sirius played 'Everytime we touch' for Remus, and one time Remus played it for him
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66
Collections: Wolfstar Games 2020





	I reach for the sky (your heart is my sky)

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the wolfstar games 2020. I'm writing for team Sound, and my prompt was: ['Everytime we touch', by Cascada](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AV4smtJrIOM)
> 
> also, while i can and will research paresis and the different kinds of canes for hours i REFUSE to learn anything about the american or british dorming system, so there might be inaccuracies! 
> 
> That being said, I am both white and not disabled and research can only get you so far, so if anything i wrote is offensive, rude, or just plain wrong, I apologize, and please feel free to tell me.

_“'Cause everytime we touch, I feel the static.”_

  * 'Everytime we touch' by Cascada



Remus is welcomed into his dorm by a wave of sound, and the sight of a ridiculously attractive boy dancing on one of the beds. He instinctively puts the arm not holding his quad cane before his mother so that she can’t walk any further.

The boy (he is around Remus’ age. Maybe he should consider calling him a man) looks up the moment the door opens, and jumps down, not the least bit embarrassed. “HELLO!” he yells, grinning.

“HI” Remus yells back, “COULD YOU MAYBE TURN THE MUSIC OFF?” 

A hand presses down on the huge box that’s already positioned in the middle of the room. “Of course.”

Remus’ mother, at this point, has already managed to find her way into the middle of the room. She smiles warmly at him. “Nice to meet you, I’m Hope Lupin, this one’s mother.” 

“I’m Sirius.” Nobody comments on the lack of a last name. “It’s nice to meet you, too. Are you sure you’re his mother, not his sister?”

Remus facepalms. Hope giggles. “Oh, Remus, I like this one. You better make good friends with him.”

Dark eyes flicker in his direction. “Remus, is it?”

“Yes.” Remus answers, keeping his head high, feeling weirdly defiant. 

“Well,” Sirius says, “I look forward to rooming with you.”

It _seems_ genuine, so Remus gives him the benefit of the doubt and shoots him a lopsided smile. “Likewise, as long as you don’t play that loud music too much.”

Sirius’ expression suddenly turns exaggeratedly grave. “I’m sorry, but if those are your conditions I don’t think we’d be a good fit.”

A startled laugh escapes Remus, and he can’t help but think that they’d be a _great_ fit.

“Seems like you are already getting along nicely.” Hope says, nudging Remus a little and. Is she winking? Remus miserably reminisces about the days where his mother didn’t yet know he was bisexual, and only teased him about girls.

Unfortunately, there’s now a blush painted over Remus’ cheeks, and he can only hope that his roommate doesn’t see it. Said roommate looks at him interacting with his mother with a unique sort of melancholy.

“I won’t hold you up any longer,” his mother says, and makes for the door. “Be sure to call me often, alright?”

“Alright,” Remus says, and after she’s gone Sirius doesn’t ask why Hope said ‘me’ instead of ‘us’, and Remus doesn’t ask where Sirius’ parents are. Instead, Sirius says: “Look, I want to celebrate having moved here, do you really mind if I play a song?”

“Fine. But I’ll pick.”

Sirius grins, as if that’s not a problem at all, as if Remus is doing him a favour, and hands him his phone. Their hands touch, and Remus jolts back at the bit of electricity he feels. _That’s what you get when you touch someone who had just been jumping on their bed_ , he thinks. He doesn’t consider the idea that the moment might have felt charged because of other reasons.

Spotify is already open, on a playlist called “songs to lose my mind to” and Remus chuckles at that because it has to be a joke and then he realizes he doesn’t know _any_ of the songs. It was his own fault, of course, because he barely ever listens to music. Or at least, Remus doesn’t ever remember the song titles.

Desperately, he just keeps on scrolling through names he doesn’t recognize. “Wow,” Sirius says after a while, “Is my taste that bad?”

He hesitates, for a moment, on a song called ‘the wild one’, by Suzi Quatro, because he’s _almost_ sure he knows it, but in the end he presses on the only one that he’s sure of. As the first moments of “Everytime we touch” begin playing, Sirius laughs, revealing sharp canines. (He seems to do that a lot. Every time, it seems just a little bit manic.)

“Well then,” Sirius extends a hand, leans forward in something that could almost be called a bow if not for his smile, his teeth still visible. “Dance with me?” 

Remus swallows. “No.” he says, because if he takes that hand he might never let go. (And also because of the whole paresis thing, but. Still.) 

“Too bad.” And the next moment all conversation is impossible, because Sirius is loudly singing along with the words and jumping on his bed again.

Remus was a firm believer of the fact that you couldn’t be fond of people you’d only just met, so the little upturn of his lips wasn’t fond. It _wasn’t._

* * *

_"I still hear your voice when you sleep next to me"_

  * 'Everytime we touch' by Cascada



“ _AND EVERY IME WE TOUCH, I GET THIS FEELI-_

“Sirius,” Remus says, exasperated and fond all at once, “Could you maybe turn the music off? I’m trying to work here.”

Sirius turns the music off. “I thought you liked that one.”

Was that why Sirius had been playing it for weeks on end now? It was… nice, but in a very impractical way. “I _know_ that one, there’s a difference.” Sirius just shrugs. “What are you doing, anyway?”

Remus rubs his eyes. “I’ve got to read this article about feminism in the Oddyssey. Well, I had the chance to read another one, and it was a hard choice between this and how the sea works as a narrative device in the Odyssey--”

“How the sea works as a _what_?”

“As a narrative device, because it marks the--” Remus yawns, “it marks the beginning and ending of every story. But the focus on women - I shouldn’t have called it feminism I think- the focus on women is so remarkable and interesting too.”

“How so?” Sirius asks, and Remus is pretty sure that Sirius is only indulging him, is pretty sure that Sirius _knows_ that Remus understands things better when he has to explain them, but he’s too tired to care.

“Well, almost all of the actions are instigated by women, or female gods. Of course the book is still about Odysseus, it’s named after him, but he, for example, wouldn’t get anything done without Athene, and if you look at queen Arete--”

Sirius is nodding along, slowly taking the book out of Remus’ hands. Their clock says it’s 2:00 am. 

“--and it’s not exactly _feminist_ becausemen are still always the leaders, but the women are so much more important than they were in the Ilias, and therefore it has even been suggested that the Oddyssey wasn’t written by Homer, but maybe his daughter although, of course, we’re not even sure if the Ilias was written by Homer or if Homer existed-” 

Sirius hums along, while somehow getting Remus on his feet and taking him in the direction of the bathroom. “You know, I think you should’ve read an article on the gay subtext.”

Remus picks up the toothpaste, and puts some on his brush and on the one Sirius extends to him. “What gay subtext?”

“Well, Nausicaä was remarkably okay with _her female friend_ suddenly being in her bedroom late at night.” 

Remus laughed, harder than he would have had he been fully awake. “She’s interested in Odysseus!”

“No, no hear me out: she says she wants someone like him because she wants someone who is _uninterested in her_ like him. She needs a beard.”

The laugh still hasn’t fully left Remus’ system, but now there’s something dreamy in it, something that always appears when he is close to Sirius for too long. “Sure, sure.”

“And,” Sirius says, and it’s a bit muffled through the door but Remus can still hear him. Sirius has made a bit of a habit of that, talking to Remus while he’s changing in the bathroom. Remus doesn’t mind. “Telemachos! He slept in the same room as that unmarried dude, and they traveled together!”

Remus' sleep-deprived mind decides this would be a great moment for a joke. “Oh? So is sleeping in the same room a sign of love now?”

Sirius laughs, a bit forced, a bit like the first time Remus met him. “Of course not. It was stupid.”

Remus wants the hurt to go away. “And he only slept in the same room as the unmarried dude _because_ the rest was married. They didn’t have room.”

“I know,” Sirius says, and afterwards he says something, softly, but to Remus it sounds like:"it was just a joke."

That hurts, too. Remus knows he has fucked _something_ up, so he goes to bed, barely saying another word to Sirius, in the hope that tomorrow he’ll be awake enough to do better. He imagines, for a moment, that tomorrow, they’ll be just fine again, and he can practically _hear_ Sirius sing already.

* * *

_'Cause everytime we touch, I get this feeling’_

  * “Everytime we touch” by cascada



“What have I done.” Remus mutters to himself, sinking away into the couch, looking on in horror as James and Sirius are _both_ jumping on Sirius’ bed.

“AND EVERYTIME WE KISS--” James sing-yells, somehow moving in sync with Sirius.

“-- I SWEAR I COULD FLY” Sirius finishes, and they’re jumping around in circles now, and are they-- are they holding hands?

“CAN’T YOU FEEL MY HEART BEAT FAST--” They both put their hands in front of their hearts, and Remus wants to laugh at them but he’s also a little impressed. 

“--I WANT THIS TO LAST” And now Sirius, while still holding both of James’ hands, is kneeling in front of him, putting so much emotion into it that Remus is almost jealous.

Suddenly, James is kneeling too, and the last sentence they sing together: “NEED YOU BY MY SIDEEEEEE” and they keep the last tone going long after the music has already ended, and then they embrace each other. It looks like a good hug, too, one of those that goes on forever, and okay, yes, Remus is _definitely_ jealous.

“Remus,” James says, jumping off of the bed, eyes bright. “Why didn’t you introduce me to your roommate before?”

“Yes, Remus, why didn’t you introduce me to _James_ before?”

“Because” Remus starts. He thinks of saying: _because you two would like each other more than me._ “I knew this would happen.”

“That _what_ would happen, us having fun?” James raises a teasing eyebrow at him.

A sigh escapes Remus. “Yes. That’s exactly what I was afraid of.”

James and Sirius, weirdly, both laugh at that. “You know what,” Sirius says, a dangerous glint in his eyes, “next time you should dance with us.”

James nods vigorously. “Yeah! We even picked out your favourite song, but still you didn’t join.”

Remus wonders where the hell they got the idea that this was his favourite song. “I won’t.” he answered, “I’m not too graceful as it is, but with the bad leg…” (And it’s a bit unfair, Remus knows, because James has always been the best at accommodating for him and his leg, and had only wanted him to have fun. Still, it works.)

“The bad leg?” Sirius inquires semi-casually.

James looks at Remus, because James doesn’t yet know if this is information that Sirius can have.

“Are you really going to pretend that you didn’t see I use a cane?”

“Well…” Sirius starts.

Remus looks at him, amused. ‘I don’t use it for very short distances, sure, but you still see me walk with it every morning.”

“Fair,” Sirius says, and he shrugs it off, but Remus knows that Sirius still wants to know.

“Car accident.” Remus says, and he doesn’t talk about it often, doesn’t quite know _how_ to talk about it, and James is looking at him incredulously like he can’t believe Remus just said that.

“I was five,” Remus continues, and slowly his mind starts putting together all the things that are necessary to tell the story comprehensively. “We crashed with another car, driven by someone who had a grudge against my dad. I gained a few scars, some damage to my spinal cord, lost my dad.” Remus shrugs.

Sirius seems a bit confused at how casual Remus is about this. “I’m… sorry for your loss?”

“Hmm? Oh, no, he didn’t die. Just decided that he couldn’t have a rehabilitating or disabled kid. We’re better off, really.”

“Oh. Then I’m _not_ sorry about your loss.” 

Suddenly, a loud laugh startles Remus. Apparently James is still in the room. “Yeah,” he says, “I don’t think anyone is sorry about it. Although Lyall _should_ be! He missed out on Remus.”

“Indeed,” Sirius adds, with a solemn nod, “his loss.”

Remus laughs and blushes and feels like a general mess. “Anyway!” he tries, “weren’t you dancing?” 

“Oh no, we’re exhausted.” James lays down on the floor, limbs sprawled out. Sirius follows.

“All that’s left for us, really, is spending some time with our friend who doesn’t dance.”

“How terrible.” Remus says, a smile on his lips, and he tries not to name the feeling he gets when one of Sirius’ hands turns out to be on Remus’ ankle.

* * *

_‘They wipe away tears that I cry.’_

  * “Everytime we touch” by Cascada



“James’ mom left some curry for us.” Remus says the moment Sirius barges in.

Sirius doesn’t respond, just heads straight for the kitchen. Remus doesn’t look up, eyes still trained on the shitty movie he’s watching. 

Just when a monster so fake that Remus can _see_ the strings jumps out, Sirius joins him on the couch. Remus still doesn’t look up, having become immersed into the movie against his will, and he certainly doesn’t when he feels Sirius’ head rest on his shoulder.

Carefully, Remus brings up a hand to thread through Sirius’ hair, only stopping the moment he feels something wet on Sirius’ cheek. Finally, he looks away from the screen splattered with fake blood, to find that Sirius is indeed crying.

At a volume so low that Remus hopes it doesn’t break anything, Remus says: “What happened?”

Sirius doesn’t look him in the eye, his head still buried in Remus’ shoulder, but extends two pieces of paper to him.

The first one is an envelope, addressed to Sirius, from ‘Walburga and Orion Black’. Sirius’ parents, Remus presumes. The envelope is empty. Sirius smells a little like ash.

The second one is a yellow post-it note, with Euphemia Potter’s handwriting on it. _I tried my hand at making some Thai green curry, please tell me how you like it! <3\. _

Remus thinks he might begin to understand. He brings his hand back to Sirius’ hair, wiping away a few stray tears. 

“I’ve never had someone make me Thai curry before.” Sirius says, a bit muffled through Remus’ sweater. “Even though I am Thai. Or any hoemade meals, for that matter.”

Remus hums.

“Only ‘proper’, British meals for us, made by our chef.” Sirius laughs in the same way as he did when he first met Remus. “My father’s Thai, you see, but it’s not like he ever tried to connect with us.”

Everything in Remus desperately wonders who the other part of the ‘us’ is. It’s the first time he even heard of the possibility of Sirius’ having siblings.

“Maybe for the better, you know? My mom pretended to care for us, got _involved_ with our upbringing, and look how long it took me to get out.”

Again, Sirius laughs in that short, barking way. “Can you even call it getting out if they still managed to find out where you live? Fuck.”

Sirius’ leg is whipping up and down, and he’s looking around like he’s trapped, and Remus doesn’t know how to keep him interested, how to keep him distracted.

Abruptly, Sirius stands up, leaving Remus feeling remarkably cold. Sirius goes into the next room, and within seconds Remus can hear the faint traces of music that made their stubborn way through the door.

He recognizes the particular combination of songs. The ‘songs to lose my mind to’ playlist.

Remus enters the room only when ‘everytime we touch’ starts playing. The curry is delicious, if not a little too spicy, in Remus’ opinion.

* * *

_“Need you by my side”_

  * ‘Everytime we touch’ by Cascada



“Okay,” Sirius says, frantic, “Do you think it looks clean enough?”

Remus, who only just walked in, blinks. The dorm is cleaner than Remus has ever seen it before, and he _swears_ he can see sparkles.

“Do I-” Remus says. “Absolutely.” 

“Good, good, that’s good.” 

A few strands of Sirius’ hair must have come loose while cleaning, his cheeks are slightly pink, and he there’s a small, almost proud, smile on his face now. Remus throat is suddenly very dry. 

“Did you-” he starts, kettle still on, “Did you clean the stove?”

Sirius brings a hand to his neck. “Well, what if Regulus wants to do something there?”

Regulus, as Remus has learned, is Sirius’ sibling, whom Sirius had a… complicated relationship with, to say the least. While Sirius had managed to escape to university, Regulus had stayed. Or maybe not, Remus thought, seeing as Regulus would be coming by today.

“Well, if they do want something, they won’t be able to complain. What time will they be here?” 

Sirius looks at the clock, for the thousandth time today. “In five minutes or so.” 

Remus smiles softly at him. “I’ll get out of your hair then.”

He turns around, but is stopped by a hand on his arm. Remus could easily shake it off, but he looks behind him questioningly.

“It would- I would like if- Could you maybe stay?” Sirius must have found something truly intriguing on the floor, seeing as he can’t tear his eyes off it.

“Sure,” Remus says, shrugging as if Sirius only asked him to get a glass of water, as if this isn’t a big deal.

He still pretends it isn’t a big deal when Regulus finally walks in, as if there’s no tension at all.

Regulus stays in the doorway for a while, and nods at them. “Sirius.” 

Sirius’ voice is just as blank, there are just as many emotions bubbling under the surface. “Regulus.” 

Remus sips his tea.

There’s a loud creak when Regulus pulls out a chair. Sirius cringes a little, Regulus stiffens, and Remus decides that, no, it would not be weird to hold his cup before his face just a few moments longer.

“How have you been?” Sirius asks. Remus snorts (although he tries to hide it with a cough) because it sounds exactly like something out of a step-by-step guide: _How to talk to your estranged sibling_.

“Fine.” Regulus says tensely. Then they seem to regret that, probably because it is painfully obvious that they wouldn’t be here if everything really was fine. “I left mom and dad.” 

Sirius raises his cup in Regulus’ direction. “Good on you.” 

Red sweaters, Remus decides, really are the most interesting thing in the world, especially the one he’s wearing right now, so he fiddles with it in the silence that falls. Regulus and Sirius seem to have the opposite of a staring contest, where they desperately avoid each other’s gaze.

Sirius clears his throat. “Do you- do you have somewhere to stay?” 

“Do you think I’d come to _you_ if I didn’t?” Regulus says it in a way that tries really hard to be friendly, but ends up falling back into something cold and practiced. Sirius seems unbothered. “I wouldn’t dare disturb you and your boyfriend’s home, ew.” 

This is when Remus realizes that he and Sirius _are_ sitting pretty close to each other, and that Regulus is on one end of the table, and that he and Sirius are on the other, like a united front. Sirius doesn’t say anything, and Remus doesn’t dare look at his reaction.

Regulus seems to take this the wrong way. “I meant because you’re my brother! And, you know, romance in general is not my thing. I’m not homophobic, I swear, I know that our parents were wrong.”

“Oh. Good.” Sirius replies. “Remus and I-- he’s-- we’re not together.” 

Regulus’ eyes narrow, and then they look pointedly at the barely-there space between their tighs. “Sure. That’s why you have an entire playlist for him.” 

“I-,” Sirius splutters. “First of all, how do you even know that? Second of all, it’s a _joke_.”

Regulus shrugs. “I guessed. You always poured your soul into those things, so why not your heart too?” 

“Fuck off with that poetic bullshit.” 

“No.” Regulus smiles. “But if it’s such a joke, why don’t you play it for us?’ 

“It _is_ a joke.” Sirius says, making eye contact with Remus. “Really.” 

That… kind of hurts, even though Remus expected it. Those feelings are soon replaced by amusement, however, when Remus recognizes the music that starts playing. 

Regulus’ nose scrunches up in distaste. “Really? _This_ is your romantic love song? Play a different one.”

“Well…” Sirius says, with one hand rubbing the back of his neck. “This is kind of the only song in the playlist?” 

Regulus sighs. “Hey!” Sirius responds. “I _said_ it was an inside joke.” 

“I can confirm,” Remus says, now that he’s sure that it’s safe, “It’s an inside joke.” 

_Thank you_ , Sirius mouths at him.

Regulus watches their interaction. “You know what? Inside jokes are kind of gay, not gonna lie.”

Unfortunately, that makes Sirius tear his eyes away from Remus. “You know, you keep saying you’re not homophobic, but that sounded pretty rude to me. Didn’t it?” And with those last words, he looks at Remus again.

Remus smiles as flirtatiously as he can at him, and leans in. “It sure does, _darling._ ”

Sirius's mouth falls open, and maybe it’s just the light, but there seems to be a blush on his tanned skin. At this, Regulus laughs uproariously, and even Remus allows himself a little self-satisfied smirk.

When Regulus has calmed down enough that there’s not even a little smile anywhere, they get up. “Well, this was lovely. Remus it was especially nice to meet _you_ \--.

Remus nods at them, ignoring Sirius’ pout.

“-and erm. Maybe we could meet up again sometime?” 

“Yeah. Yeah, I would like that. Just let me write down my number, so you can reach me.” 

While Sirius walks into the kitchen. Regulus leans over conspiratorially to Remus. “I saw his phone earlier, and just so you know, Remus-who-is-not-Sirius’-boyfriend, the playlist was called: _boy with impeccable taste in music (but hopefully bad taste in men).”_

Remus doesn’t know what to do. That sure is… something. Regulus has the nerve to _wink_ at him. “See you later!”

* * *

_“And everytime we kiss, I reach for the sky.”_

  * “Everytime we touch’ by Cascada



Lily, one of Remus’ best friends, is going out. Unfortunately, James Potter met her once, made eye contact, messed up his hair, asked her out, got rejected, and fell in love with her, so he is going out too.

What’s even more unfortunate, is that Remus is friends with both of them, and James ‘needs a wingman’ ( _“That’s why it went wrong last time! Because you weren’t there!” “James, I think it went wrong because you said, and I quote: ‘You’re hot, want to go out?’” “My brain short-circuited okay, how do you explain love at first sight otherwise? and to be fair, she_ is _hot. And I just need a second chance to tell her that I also think she’s interesting and funny and that she has a nice smile and beautiful hair and a lovely voice and--” “Yes, James, I get it.”)._

But, really, the cherry on top is that Sirius heard the words ‘going out’ and now he’s like a dog with a bone. He even managed to get Lily’s number _and_ her permission to go along, and he’s been hyperactive with anticipation all day. 

At first, Remus didn’t mind that Sirius was so excited, but then Sirius decided to dress up, in tight black pants and a white T-shirt and Remus would’ve laughed at him for looking so cliche if only his throat hadn’t been so dry all of a sudden.

Sirius and Lily click immediately, and maybe Remus should be slightly jealous of that, but he’s too busy with stomping back the thought that Sirius fits so perfectly in his life. Lily took to the dance floor immediately, and Sirius followed along, and now they’re involved in a weird sort of dance battle, where they simultaneously insult and copy each other’s moves.

Remus has joined James at the sidelines, looking out over the dancefloor, drink in hand. He had been enjoying the relative calm, up until James manages to drag himself out of his Lily-induced stupor. “Should I go up to her?” 

“Honestly, James, I think you could, but don’t come on too strong, that’s where it went wrong last time .” James nods along. “Just talk to her, be friendly, get to know her, maybe try being friends first?”

“But,” James says, and after years of friendship Remus recognizes it when James fakes innocence, because he goes all doe-eyed and a bit pouty. “What if I’m friends with her, and I want more? I mean, I know that friendship in and of itself is amazing, I really do, but-- Don’t you think the best thing to do in that situation would be to confess? Because our friendship would be strong enough to survive it, and because there’s always a chance the other feels the same? Especially if all my friends agree?” 

Remus hits him over the head, messing up his bird's nest of hair even further. James just grins widely at him. “Shut up.”

But now the idea has been planted in Remus’ head. It doesn’t help that Regulus already told him about the playlist name, or that Lily, who hadn’t even _met_ Sirius before, had said that Sirius sounded ‘absolutely smitten’, or that Sirius smiles all excited and happy at him when their eyes meet.

James seems to recognize this, and pushes just a _bit_ more. “Come on, I’ll ask if they play something slow, something romantic, alright? Then you guys can slow dance and gaze into each other’s eyes and shit.” 

Involuntarily, an idea creeps up on Remus. He smirks, “Make them play ‘everytime we touch’.” 

“You can’t properly _slow dance_ to that.” James grumbles, and then he’s gone, and Remus is left all alone with his insecurities. He knows that there’s a chance this will succeed, sure, but he’s a little more occupied with the fact that this could also fail, and then it would be awkward, and then Sirius would distance himself, and then-

‘Everytime we touch’ starts playing. Immediately, Sirius’ head snaps up and he looks straight at Remus. Remus looks back, a small, unsure smile on his face, and starts walking towards him. Sirius does the same thing, and then they’re standing in the middle of the room, looking at each other.

“Dance with me?” Remus says, extending his hand, thanking the gods that his voice doesn’t waver. 

“Of course,” Sirius says, taking his hand, and _oh_ , they’re very close now. 

Remus laughs awkwardly, “I’m sorry, but we can’t dance too enthusiastically. I’ll fall over.” 

Lily, who, as Remus now notices, has been standing there all along, winks, “Guess you’ll have to hold on to each other then.” James, who’s next to her, holds his hand up for a high five, and surprisingly, she goes along with it.

“Piss off.” Remus says, and holding up her hands, she does.

Remus turns back to Sirius, “Where were we?” 

“You were about to kiss me, I believe.” Sirius grins at him, in a way that’s supposed to be cocky, but Remus can see the current of nervousness beneath it. Oddly, it calms him.

He raises an eyebrow. “Was I, now?” and before Sirius can answer, Remus touches his lips to Sirius’s, just as he was about to before Lily and James had interrupted them.

Sirius responds immediately, and the hand that wasn’t holding Remus’ comes up to cup his face. Remus, who kind of wants to touch Sirius too but refuses to let go of his cane because A) he doesn’t want to lose it, B) he kind of needs it to, you know, walk, and C) because he would be proving Lily right if he did, simply steps closer, until their chests are touching.

When Remus pulls back for air and opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is a gorgeous smile on Sirius’ lips, and he mirrors it, feeling as if he contains so much happiness that it’s simply spilling over. (The second thing he sees are James and Lily, cheering, which both ruins and improves the moment)

**Author's Note:**

> **Mod Note**
> 
> Please vote on this work! [VOTING FORM](https://forms.gle/S61DVS3YquRFvoPs6)


End file.
